GRAZIA
Activist, CEO and fashion power player Sinéad Burke shares her manifesto for change
THE BRITISH Fashion Council (BFC) published its first DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) Census of the UK fashion industry last month. The BFC promotes British fashion and supports the sector to export, grow and, by its own definition, innovate. The data showed that of the 1,529 survey participants, only 6% identified as disabled, with 94% identifying as non-disabled, or at least, not disabled right now. It’s a statistic that is out of sync with the UK population, which has 16 million disabled people; one in every six. So, why is fashion so under-populated with disabled people? Or do they not feel safe, comfortable or supported to acknowledge their disability?
I began my career and advocacy through a blog. As a woman with a very visible disability, the fashion industry was alluring because of its urgent need to change. A decade ago, my vision for that change was rooted in the availability and affordability of accessible products, now known as adaptive fashion. I wanted consumers to have more choice about what they wore, how clothes lived on their skin, and the ease with which they could dress independently. This ambition is not merely for disabled people, but for us all. Think about how often we must contort ourselves to zip up a dress. The original pattern was designed in an era where women had husbands or domestic support and yet, in a decade where progress has afforded our lives to become more autonomous, our wardrobes haven’t kept up.
There is good news, though. Disabled-led brands, such as Dewey, Unhidden and Liberare, create beautiful and functional garments that are accessible and imbued with personality. Recently, Primark also announced the launch of four adaptive items in its underwear category and Selma Blair created an adaptive line with QVC. But product is merely one part of the system. Recently, my team and I created a programme with Parsons School of Design in New York, where in September, three disabled students will be fully funded to complete a degree in fashion design. The following year, another three students will enrol.
It’s important to tackle fashion education because we need disabled designers in the room. Principles I hold dear are ‘nothing about us, without us’ and to ‘design with disabled people, not for disabled people’. The purpose of this guidance is to ensure that disabled people are at the heart of the innovations and conversations about them. As someone who has been fortunate to be in places such as the Met Gala, front row at fashion week and on the cover of British Vogue – twice – I had to ask the question, ‘Did the fashion industry become more accessible, or did it become more accessible for me?’ I realised that to create systemic change required more than an indi
